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I was in a similar situation choosing between an X35 (=RS46) and an X70 (=RS55) and went for the RS46 due to a better lamp design and better 3D. I miss out on the e-shift and slightly higher contrast, but it really gives me piece of mind not having to constanly worry that the bulb might suddenly dim or go out (JVC had huge problems with this until last years models), and I also enjoy 3D and this should be noticeably better on the RS46. So, I'm very content I made the choice I did.

I was in a similar situation choosing between an X35 (=RS46) and an X70 (=RS55) and went for the RS46 due to a better lamp design and better 3D. I miss out on the e-shift and slightly higher contrast, but it really gives me piece of mind not having to constanly worry that the bulb might suddenly dim or go out (JVC had huge problems with this until last years models), and I also enjoy 3D and this should be noticeably better on the RS46. So, I'm very content I made the choice I did.

Thanks for your response. know the B stock projector comes with the third generation of that bulb but I still am not sure. Also there was an issue with magenta stripes showing up I believe on the previous generation JVC which has me a little concerned as well. Or am I mistaken and this won't be an issue on the 4800?

I believe the magenta stripes plagued the JVCs with the older chassis (RS15/25/35) and older, but haven't seen any reports since.

JVC came out with new lamps with cooling flaps to the 2011 models, but as far as I recall they still burned out fast. The 2012 lamps though seems to be really good over the board. I haven't heard anything about any pre-mature bulb failures and they even seem to keep their brightness more than one would expect compared to other projectors. Many have reported 3-400 h and still 100% brightness, this many hours would otherwise typically show 15-30% drop in a bulb based projector.

I believe the problem of the older JVCs were a design flaw that prevented proper cooling of the lamps, which subsequently overheated. The RS46 has a completely redesigned lamp and lamp housing to allow better cooling.

The magenta stripe issue came from the pre-3D models, such as the RS1 - RS35 series.

The RS40-45 had issues with the lamp, not sure about the RS46.

So that you know, other projectors, Sony and Epson have their own unique problems as well.

I switched between Sony and JVC models quite often in the 1080p world but only had an Epson 720p model.

The version three lamp seems to have pretty much solved the lamp problem with last years projectors. The new lamp design with the new JVC's that I have not seen one single lamp issue reported on the forums. Out of the 100's that we have sold, not a single customer has come back to us with a lamp problem. In fact JVC projectors have been trouble free. Notice you don't see people talking about issues with the new projectors.